# WTF is \*WITH\* the escalator at 3rd and 52nd? (NYC Subway) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 17, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504 "2007-04-17T18:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/21 "2007-04-19T23:40:44Z")
"I like an escalator, man, 'cause an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. There would never be an “Escalator Temporarily Out of Order” sign, only “Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the Convenience.” -Mitch Hedberg ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/22 "2007-04-19T23:44:34Z")
[QUOTE=stuyguy] Holy crap, **AH3** , I live just south and east of 3rd @ 52nd too! Are we neighbors? Naturally, I am totally familiar with that escalator. Yes, it once worked like a dream, years ago. Then it died and was boarded up. I’m delighted to hear it’s functioning again. [/QUOTE] Hey! I’m actually at the corner of 1st Ave and 49th. But this is the nearest subway (E/V and 6). And you missed it. The window of opportunity for seeing the escalator in action has closed again. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/23 "2007-04-20T00:02:40Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3] Hey! I’m actually at the corner of 1st Ave and 49th. But this is the nearest subway (E/V and 6). [/QUOTE] We _are_ neighbors, sort of. I live on 51st, between 2nd & 3rd. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/24 "2007-04-20T04:20:19Z")
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike] the fall of 1984. [/QUOTE] When the fuck did that happen? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/25 "2007-05-24T14:09:16Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3 (04-18-2007)] And of course because I posted the rant, today, this morning, what do you suppose? It’s working! People actually _riding_ on the thing. Wonder if it will still be working when I get home tonight. And how long it will last. [/QUOTE] Update: with one brief half-day outage, they had it running for an unprecedented 2 weeks. That ended 3 weeks ago. For three weeks now, it’s had the “under construction” barriers around it at both ends, and has stood motionless. (OK, technically 3 weeks tomorrow). I’m taking bets on whether it runs again in 2007. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504/26 "2007-05-24T14:22:33Z")
Sounds like the moving sidewalks at Beaudry metro. I don’t even remember when the east one was taken out of service, but it’s been that way since at least the winter before last. It was even out of service during the World Outgames (Beaudry metro is in the gay village), although they took away the barriers so at least you could use it to walk up and down on; as it is now, your only choice to get into the metro is a block-long flight of stairs with _slanting_ landings, which if completely fixed in place, tiled concrete stairs could be rickety, these would be. They were downright dangerous in the winter. I’ve stopped entering the metro at that station entirely. Feh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-with-the-escalator-at-3rd-and-52nd-nyc-subway/400504.md?page=1)